1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for sorting out short lengths in light-section finishing lines, including a cutting device, for example, a cold shear, which has a cutting plane, wherein the cutting device is followed by a driven roller conveyor with a length stop which can be removed preferably by being lifted and is adjustable to the desired length.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the area following cold shears and separating cutting machines, short lengths always occur in the last positions to be cut, wherein the short lengths are sorted more or less effectively by subsequently arranged devices which are usually very complicated. These devices are composed of additional roller conveyors or tables with collecting troughs and clamping or drawing units which are structurally very complicated. In addition, these devices partially have to be operated manually.
German Patent 1 243 404 discloses a method and an apparatus for mechanically sorting out short lengths from a group of cut lengths. In accordance with the method, the group of cut lengths are clamped at both ends after being cut by a cold shear and raised from below from the conveying plane approximately in the middle, but in front of the free end of the shortest short length. Subsequently, the free upwardly directed ends of the short lengths are grasped and the short lengths are held back when the cut lengths are conveyed away.
This method does operate but is very complicated. This is because the apparatus for carrying out the method utilizes a cold shear with a raisable and lowerable holding-down device provided for the upper knife, a shear table arranged following the shear and a horizontally displaceable stopping carriage which is adjustable in accordance with the spacing of the desired commercial length, and the apparatus is composed of an independently controllable conventional raisable and lowerable holding-down device provided for the stopping carriage and of lifting bars which are arranged in the area of the shear table between the roller spacing of the conveyor rollers and can be raised and lowered independently of each other in a vertical plane, and of horizontally movable raisable and lowerable electrical lifting magnets arranged along side the travel path of the stopping carriage and above the conveying plane.